


Cat Got Your Tongue?

by darktensh17



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Animal Transformation, Cat Hux, Fluff and Crack, M/M, Redemption
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-21
Updated: 2016-07-21
Packaged: 2018-07-25 20:49:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,707
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7546941
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darktensh17/pseuds/darktensh17
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Hux is turned into a cat, he didn't expect much, certainly not to be picked up by Poe Dameron. Ever the strategist he uses it as an opportunity to spy on the Resistance. He never counted on developing feelings.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Cat Got Your Tongue?

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the TFA kinkmeme:
> 
> "Poe finds an ill-tempered, pathetic stray on some backwater planet. Being a huge softie, he coaxes it into his X-Wing and brings it back home.  
> Hux had a run in with a Force user/alien tech that transformed him into a cat. Returning to human form really doesn't improve his temperament at all."
> 
> Look Ma! I can write fluffy stuff!
> 
> Many thanks again and again to Zoe_Dameron for continuing to look over my stuff <3

It was the angry yowling that drew Poe’s attention and led him to the back alley where he saw a ginger cat being harassed by a pack of canines. The cat seemed to be holding its own well enough but even Poe could see that the poor things was exhausted and incredibly outnumbered. 

Unconcerned about his own safety, he advanced into the alley. “Get out of here, you!” The canines turned their attention to Poe, growing at the new threat. Poe pulled out his blaster and aimed it at them. It wasn’t kind but the canines seemed to recognize the weapon, and the sight of it was enough to cause them to scatter. “Good riddance.” 

Poe turned back toward the cat, which was looking at him warily. “Hello sweetheart, did they hurt you?” Crouching down, he held a hand out for the cat to sniff, though it wouldn’t come closer. Pursing his lips, Poe dug into his backpack and pulled out a protein bar, ripping off a piece and holding it out for the cat. “Are you hungry?”

The cat still eyed him warily as it padded forward, sniffing the food before taking it from his hands in a move Poe could only describe as ‘haughty’. Still, it allowed Poe to reach forward and run a hand down its lovely ginger coat. 

“What’s a pretty thing like you doing all the way out here fighting canines, hm?” He wasn’t surprised when the cat didn’t reply, although it did give him a look that Poe surmised as ‘are you kidding me.’ Laughing, he broke off another piece of the protein bar for the cat. “You’re a handsome one, aren’t you?”

The cat meowed once before taking the offered piece of food and eating it more daintily than any animal Poe had ever seen. Surely this was someone’s pet.

Poe continued to pet the cat’s fur, looking down at it thoughtfully. “I don’t like the thought of leaving you here alone, do you have a home?” 

After eating the second piece of the bar, the cat looked as though it were giving Poe the once over before it suddenly jumped up on to Poe’s shoulders, making itself comfortable there. The weight of the cat was odd, but not uncomfortable.

“Is that a no, then?” Poe reached up to scratch the cat’s ears and was delighted at the content purr that the action caused. “You want to come back home with me then? It’ll be a little cramped in the X-Wing but we’ll make it work.” He was pleased when the cat seemed to meow its agreement with the plan. “Alright then buddy, I just gotta wrap up this mission and then we’ll head home.” 

BB-8 did not take to well to the sight of the cat lying so comfortingly across Poe’s shoulder. In fact, they told Poe without any due course that they thought the cat was likely a trap sent to trick Poe. Poe only laughed and told BB-8 that they were overreacting.

He had no plans for keeping the cat, of course, but that was never how these things went, was it?

-

Being turned into a cat while undercover to retrieve a sulking Ren from some backwater Outer Rim planet was not something that Hux had planned for. It was, in fact, something he had never planned for, or considered plausible. It seemed that Ren wasn’t the only person with access to space magics, and after a run in with a particularly bitter old woman – apparently she’d had family in the Hosnian System – Hux found himself engulfed by a strange sensation and then everything had gone dark. 

When he’d awoken he was not exactly his usual self. He was a cat. 

A ginger cat to be specific, and Hux would have rolled his eyes if it were possible at the unoriginality of it. In fact, he looked like a slightly scrawnier version of Millicent. Perhaps there was stock in the worry Mitaka and some of the other members of his crew had about Hux’s eating; he certainly looked like an underfed creature now.

This current form posed several problems, not limited to the fact that no one aboard the Finalizer actually knew that he was here on this planet. Ren could perhaps sense his life force if he wasn’t too drunk on either cheap booze or his own self-imposed pity.

On top of all his other concerns, there was the cryptic remark that the old woman had said before departing: “You will remain in this form until you are willing to lose everything you have and are for someone else. Only then will you know the pain that you have caused the Galaxy.”

Really, Hux didn’t care for anything, so how was he supposed to break a curse that way? He needed to find Ren.

Given the circumstances, Hux was reasonably upset. However, he was nothing if not resourceful. When the very Resistance pilot that had escaped from Hux’s own ship came along and rescued him from a pack of crazed creatures, Hux took the opportunity to make use of his current form; he made sure that when Poe Dameron returned to the Resistance, that Hux returned with him.

Now Hux was content to lie on the man’s lap and receive the attention he was due. The man was entirely too good with his hands and Hux couldn’t help his new body’s natural reaction of purring loudly from the strokes and scratches he was receiving. It was no wonder Millicent enjoyed this so much and was so insistent about it.

“If I’m taking you home I’m going to need to call you something, aren’t I?” Dameron asked him, smiling as Hux butted his head against the man’s hand. “You’re a ginger cat, so maybe Ginger?”

Hux growled at that. The nickname had been an abhorrent one during his time at the Academy, and there was no way he would ever answer to it in any form.

Dameron laughed good naturedly, “Not Ginger. Hmm . . . Red? Sun? Fuego? That’s ‘fire’ in my mother’s tongue.”

None of the names pleased Hux. Could the man not think of something original? Hux batted at Dameron’s hand to show his displeasure. Dameron simply laughed.

“You’re an awfully opinionated and demanding cat. Makes me think of that First Order general, General Starkiller. . . what was his name. . . ‘Hux’, I think.”

Not caring for being insulted, Hux huffed and nipped at Poe’s hand before offering a pleased purr at the choice of names. It was much better to be called by his own name than by some mundane pet name.

“I guess I’ll call you Hux then. I can’t imagine that people will be terribly thrilled about it on base, but what can you do?” Hux thought Dameron prattled entirely too much, but the man had returned to scratching Hux behind his ear and Hux found he no longer cared. Instead, he felt himself relax completely for the first time in perhaps years, and he fell asleep with no worries.

-

Poe never intended to keep Hux; the life he led wasn’t one suited to a pet and so he’d hoped that someone on the base would adopt the cat. This would normally have not been an issue, since the Resistance was full of people who loved animals. The problem was Hux himself. 

After a month, Poe gave up trying and just accepted that Hux was his cat now.

“That cat is evil incarnate Poe; I don’t know how you think it’s sweet.” Snap pointed out one day, nursing a bleeding wrist from where Hux had swiped at him when he’d tried to pet the cat. “It doesn’t like anyone but you.”

Looking down at where Hux was settled, comfortable and purring in his lap once again, Poe couldn’t see what Snap was talking about. Hux was an angel. “I think you just startled him is all.”

“Nope that cat is evil. He’s as evil as his name sake. Everyone agrees with me, just ask them. Even BB-8 doesn’t like it!” 

Poe looked over at BB-8, who was keeping his distance and talking to Snap’s own astromech R4-H5. “Beebee’s fine. If nothing, he’s no more than a little jealous.”

BB-8 heard the comment and turned their dome to stare at Poe. [BB-8 is not jealous. Designation: Evil Poe Stealer is a detriment to Resistance life and should be removed as quickly as possible.]

In his lap Hux opened his pretty blue eyes and hissed at BB-8, almost as though he could understand what astromech was saying.

“That’s a little excessive for someone who’s not jealous, Beebee.” BB-8 gave an indignant beep and wheeled out of the room. “Like I said, he’s just jealous.” Poe was maybe a little hurt but BB-8’s reaction but he quickly brushed it aside when Hux stood up and licked at his chin. “I’ll make it up to him soon.”

Snap sighed and shook his head, “Whatever you say, Poe. Just know that if there’s a pilots’ party the cat can’t come.” With a shake of his head, Snap exited the room, leaving Poe alone with Hux.

“They’re just being silly. You’re not evil at all, are you? You’re just really, really particular about why you spend time with.” Hux purred loudly in agreement.

Poe was mindful of the feelings of his friends and BB-8; he tried to spend more time with them without Hux around. This proved difficult due to the fact that even when Poe locked Hux inside his rooms the cat always seemed to find a way out and back to Poe. It got so bad that he would even follow Poe into Central Command and would sit there attentively while they planned. Luckily, General Organa was more amused than annoyed with the cat.

Wisely, she kept her hands to herself. Admiral Statura was already sporting an impressive set of bite marks from when he’d tried to physically remove Hux from a mission planning session. After that, everyone left the cat alone and Hux just became a common sight at the meetings.

Things settled into a comfortable routine with most of the Resistance just ignoring Hux’s existence, and Poe doting on his angry little ball of fur. That was until a mission came up that required Poe to be off base for several days.

Hux had not taken the sight of Poe packing his bags well, and the cat kept trying to climb into the bag so that Poe would take him. “Sorry buddy, Finn’s gonna take care of you while I’m gone so you have to be good for him. No biting, scratching, or anything like that. I’ll be back before you know it.” Poe pressed a kiss to Hux’s head and wrapped the cat in blankets to keep him distracted enough that Poe could get out of his room without any further delays. He felt bad but he knew that Hux would understand, and besides, Finn would take good care of him, even if Hux seemed to hate Finn more than anyone else on base.

-

When Dameron is sent out on a long term mission, Hux is less than pleased. More than that, he is even a little concerned. During the duration of his stay at the Resistance base on Agreian Four, he has come to care greatly for Dameron. So much so that he does not approve of anyone else being near the man, especially that traitor FN-2187. Hux is particularly angry at the fact that this is the man Dameron left to care for him.

Hux took some comfort in the fact that FN-2187 seemed as cowed by Hux in this form as he had prior to his defection. Small victories are still victories. 

Of course with Dameron gone, Hux could no longer get into Command Center. In fact, he could no longer even make it out of the room, as Dameron had changed the access code prior to leaving and Hux hadn’t had enough time to memorize it.

That left him with little else to do but roam the room and look through Dameron’s things. He took particular interest in the files on the man’s datapad, which was filled with images of Dameron throughout his lifetime. He was a particularly adorable child, growing up in what seemed like quite the happy family. Hux felt somewhat envious of this. 

The datapad contained a few holorecords, which Hux watched in fascination. His favourite quickly became one of Dameron around the age of four, opening presents on his birthday with his mother and father at his side. There was so much delight and innocence in Damreon’s gaze. Hux wondered if he himself had ever been like that. His earliest memories were of the fall of the Empire and fleeing into the Unknown Regions.

Sighing as much as a cat could, Hux allowed himself to sleep on Dameron’s pillow. He didn’t even have the energy to deny that it was because he missed the man’s smell.

He was startled awake the next day when the door to Dameron’s quarters opened and two of Poe’s pilots came in instead of Finn. He watched them warily.

“Finn said we just have to feed the cat and clean the litter and then we can go. When he wakes up, Poe will be pissed to know we didn’t take care of his cat.” The first speaker was the Keshian male Arana, and with him was the tall female pilot Kun.

Hux’s ears twitched and he stared at the two intently as they went about their assigned tasks.

They both seemed distressed but Kun seemed to be worse off. “If he wakes up! You heard Kalonia, he needs to be put in bacta for days if we want him to survive. We don’t have that kind of pull, especially with the Republic gone.” Her voice became chocked with tears and Hux watched as Iolo gathered him into her arms.

“It’s Poe; he’ll never give up fighting. We’ll find a way to get the bacta and he’ll pull through.” Arana did not sound confident in his words.

That was as far as Hux listened; before either pilot could blink he was out of the room and on his way towards the medical center. He needed to see Poe. His pilot couldn’t be hurt badly enough as to think of leaving Hux.

It was easy enough for him to track down Poe by his scent and when Hux came to his bed he was shocked at the sight he was in. He was so shocked that he didn’t even protest when FN-2187 suddenly picked him up and cradled him.

“Hux, you shouldn’t be here. . .” Sniffling, FN-2187 buried his face in his free hand. “They don’t think he’s going to make it more than a few days. . .” 

Hux squirmed out of FN-2187’s arms and jumped up on the bed next to Poe, licking his cheek and meowing desperately. _Poe, you can’t die!_ He thought desperately, _You’re mine!_ Hux had never thought himself capable of love but he realized that he truly was in love with Poe Dameron. If only he were human, he could easily get a hold of a supplier to bring bacta to the Resistance in very little time. It wouldn’t matter that it would be treasonous; all that mattered was that Poe would be healthy. Hux would give up everything so that Poe survived. 

Suddenly, Hux found himself changing, his body growing. With a flash he was back in his original form. He was less surprised by FN-2187’s shocked squawking, followed by the apprehension by Resistance troops. 

“I must speak with General Organa, I can get access to the bacta you need to save Poe. Once this is done you may do with me as you will.”

-

When Poe opened his eyes it was to a too bright light. Groaning, he turned his head away.

“Lights, twenty-five percent.” When the lights thankfully dimmed, Poe looked over at where Leia Organa was standing up to move over to his side. “How are you feeling, Poe?”

Poe wrinkled his nose as he took stock of what his body was feeling. “Tired, hungry, and like I was run over by a bantha. What happened?” His voice was raspy from disuse. 

“You came out near dead from a dog fight against TIE fighters, followed by a crash. We weren’t sure that you were going to survive.” Leia took one of his hands in her own and gave it a soft squeeze of comfort. There was something she wasn’t telling him; apparently she could see the question in his eyes. “We had to put you in a bacta tank.” 

“We don’t have access to that much bacta. . .”

Leia nodded. “We didn’t until a week ago.” The story she proceeded to tell him was insane enough that Poe thought he was still asleep. 

It wasn’t until two days later when he was fully healed that he was able to check the validity of the story himself, no matter how much his friends told him it was true. BB-8 in particular seemed very delighted with the new turn of events.

[I knew that Designation: Evil Poe Stealer was evil. It is good that he will no longer be bothering Poe or poisoning his mind.] 

Poe had only patted BB-8 on the head every time the topic of conversation came up. Now that he was healthy enough Poe made his way down to the cells where the Resistance kept its prisoners, and moved to where he had been told that General Hux was being held.

When Poe stopped in front of the cell bars, General Hux looked up at him, eyes widening as he surged to his feet and ran toward Poe. Poe could see anxiety, relief, sorrow and even love in the other man’s blue eyes; eyes that were the same colour as those of kitty Hux.

“So the bacta made it in time.” Hux said softly, his gaze taking in every inch of Poe. “I am glad. . . I had feared my influence would not be enough after the amount of time I was gone.”

Poe studied the general known around the base as ‘Starkiller’, taking in his ragged appearance and the dark circles under his eyes. “General Organa said that you told them everything they could ever wish to know about the First Order and asked nothing for yourself other than to know if I made it. . . why?”

Hux laughed bitterly, bringing his hands up to cover his eyes and Poe realized that he was crying. “When I was first turned into a cat I worried what would become of me, then you came along and I saw an opportunity to learn important information about my enemies. I never anticipated developing feelings for you or to come to care about the people here.”

Listening intently, Poe stayed silent as Hux continued.

“When I found out you were injured and at death’s door I knew that I could not live without you, that I would give up everything that I had ever believed, my entire life’s work to ensure that you survived.” Wiping his eyes, Hux looked down at Poe. “Somehow, that broke the spell that had been placed on me, and I was able to do everything in my power to ensure you lived. That’s all that matters, I know my life is forfeit and I will face death for my role in the destruction of the Hosnian System.”

Somehow, that thought didn’t sit right with Poe. “You’re mine, Hux. You were my cat and now apparently you’re my General. I won’t let anything happen to you. We’ll figure something out.”

-

Hux wrapped a possessive arm around Poe’s waist, pulling the smaller man to him. Even eight months after he had been turned into a cat he could not believe the direction his life had turned. Not only had his life been spared but he was beholden to the Resistance, spending the rest of his life under the guard of Commander Poe Dameron. His days consisted of working with Resistance Command to develop ways to aid in defeating the First Order, as well as taking down Supreme Leader Snoke. His nights were spent with Poe, whether alone or with Poe’s friends. It still felt so surreal. 

Every day Hux woke up thinking that it would all turn out to be a dream.

“Ari, you’re holding me too tight, what’s wrong?” When Poe craned his head to look up at him, Hux took the opportunity to steal a kiss, which Poe melted happily into. When they parted Poe raised an eyebrow at him. “Ari?”

Huffing, Hux buried his face in Poe’s hair, delighting in the scent of his pilot as well as the apple scented shampoo he used. “The new radar technician was flirting with you.”

He could practically feel Poe’s confusion. “Matt?”

“And the droid techs were talking about your ass. BB-8 told me that they gossip about how attractive you are all the time.” That was another thing that had changed greatly; BB-8 no longer hated Hux with a burning passion, although they still resented Hux’s monopoly of Poe’s time. Hux had been making sure to include BB-8 in some of his and Poe’s alone time, permitting the astro to join them in their cuddling, for example. 

Poe laughed, turning in Hux’s arm to wrap his arms around Hux’s neck. “You know BB-8 is a horrible gossip and likes to tease you, right?” This was a familiar conversation, mainly because Poe did not believe a word about how half of the base was sexually or romantically attracted to him. Hux had never met someone with so much lack of awareness for their own natural charms. “Don’t be jealous.”

Hux wrapped his arms around Poe tighter. “You’re mine and I’m never letting you go.” 

“Well you’re gonna have to tonight if we want to be partners in cards.” Poe pulled Hux down in for another kiss. “I’ve got my afternoon free, how about I spend it showing you that you’re the only one for me?”

How could Hux turn such an offer down? The answer was, of course, that he couldn’t. 

They never did make it for cards that night.

**Author's Note:**

> In the original kink meme version I had the radar tech as Lana, I only realized how much of a missed opportunity I had after.


End file.
